Chapter6-双语名著无障碍阅读丛书——《水孩子The Water Babies》

Chapter VI "Thou little child,yet glorious in the night Of heaven-born freedom on thy Being's height, Why with such earnest pains dost thou provoke The Years to bring the inevitable yoke Thus blindly with thy blessedness at strife? Full soon thy soul shall have her earthly freight. And custom lie upon thee with a weight Heavy as frost,and deep almost as life." -WORDSWORTH I come to the very saddest part of all my story.I know some people will only laugh at it,and call it much ado about nothing.But I know one man who would not;and he was an officer with a pair of gray moustaches as long as your arm, who said once in company that two of the most heart-rending sights in the world,which moved him most to tears,which he would do anything to prevent or remedy,were a child over a broken toy and a child stealing sweets. The company did not laugh at him;his moustaches were too long and too gray for that:but,after he was gone,they called him sentimental and so forth,all ·236· 第六章 你这孩子呵，站在生命的高峰， 在夜空里辉耀天赋自由的荣光， ①provoke[pra'vouk] 为什么你竟茫然与天意作对， 对…挑衅 迫不及待地呼请“年岁” ②strife[straif]n.冲突 把命定的重轭加你身上？ 很快你的灵魂要熬受尘世的苦楚， 习俗的重负降临你心， 像冰霜一样凌厉，像生命一样深邃！ —华兹华斯 我在这里要讲到故事最悲惨的部分了。我知道，有 些人只会觉得这事好笑，认为是无事生非。可我知道有 一个人并不这样认为。这人长了两撒有你胳臂一样长的 ③heart-ending心碎的 花白胡子，是个军官。有一次他跟大家闲聊，他说世界 使人悲痛的 上有两件让他流泪的顶伤心的事，就是小孩子为摔坏的 玩具哭泣或者小孩子偷糖果。他看见了总要想方设法去 补救或者制止。在座的人当时并没有笑话他，因为他的 两撒胡子又长又白，大家不好意思。可等他走后，都说 他感情用事等等。只有一位可亲的小老太太不这样。她 ·237· ChapterVI but one dear little old Quaker lady with a soul as white as her cap,who was not, of course,generally partial to soldiers;and she said very quietly,like a Quaker: "Friends,it is borne upon my mind that that is a truly brave man." Now you may fancy that Tom was quite good,when he had everything that he could want or wish:but you would be very much mistaken.Being quite comfortable is a very good thing;but it does not make people good.Indeed,it sometimes makes them naughty,as it has made the people in America;and as it made the people in the Bible,who waxed fat and kicked,like horses overfed and underworked.And I am very sorry to say that this happened to little Tom.For he grew so fond of the sea-bullseyes and sea-lollipops that his foolish little head could think of nothing else:and he was always longing for more,and wondering when the strange lady would come again and give him some,and what she would give him,and how much,and whether she would give him more than the others. And he thought of nothing but lollipops by day,and dreamt of nothing else by night-and what happened then? That he began to watch the lady to see where she kept the sweet things: and began hiding,and sneaking,and following her about,and pretending to be looking the other way,or going after something else,till he found out that she kept them in a beautiful mother-of-pearl cabinet away in a deep crack of the rocks. And he longed to go to the cabinet,and yet he was afraid;and then he longed again,and was less afraid;and at last,by continual thinking about it,he longed so violently that he was not afraid at all.And one night,when all the other children were asleep,and he could not sleep for thinking of lollipops,he crept away among the rocks,and got to the cabinet,and behold!it was open. But,when he saw all the nice things inside,instead of being delighted,he was quite frightened,and wished he had never come there.And then he would only touch them,and he did;and then he would only taste one,and he did;and then he would only eat one,and he did;and then he would only eat two,and then three,and so on;and then he was terrified lest she should come and catch him, ·238· 第六章 是贵格会教徒，戴着一顶洁白的帽子，有着帽子般洁白 ①partial[pa:川a.编向 的灵魂。当然，她一般不袒护士兵，可是这位贵格会教 方的：偏袒的 徒静静地说道： “各位朋友，我深信，这才是一个真正勇敢的人。” 现在你也许会想象汤姆已经过得很好了，要什么 就有什么。可是如果你这样想，就大错特错了。舒服 固然是好事，可是并不能使人变好。说实话，舒服有 时候让人变得不听话，就像美国人那样，也像圣经里 ②wax[wks]增大 面的那些人一样，养胖了就变得不受约束起来，有如 ③lollipop[lolipop]n.棒棒 吃得太多干活太少的马一样。可惜，小汤姆现在就是 糖 这样子。他现在对海球形硬薄荷糖和海棒棒糖喜欢得 不得了，那个愚意小脑瓜里别的什么都不想：就想多要 一点糖，总是盘算着那位奇怪的仙女几时再来，给他 一点糖果，给他什么样的糖果，会给多少，会不会给 他比给别人多些。他白天想的是糖果，晚上做梦也是 糖果—结果呢？ 他开始盯着仙女，留心她把糖果放在什么地方。他 躲躲藏藏，偷偷跟在仙女后面，眼晴装作望着别处，或 者去寻找什么东西，直到发现原来她把糖果藏在岩石缝 深处一个美丽的珍珠母橱子里。 于是，他想去匣子那里，可是害怕。后来他又想去， 就不那么害怕了。最后，他实在想得厉害，就一点都不 害怕了。一天夜里，其他的孩子都睡着了，他想糖果想 得睡不着，就悄悄地爬出去到了石头缝里，找到了那橱 子。看哪，橱子原来开着呢。 可是，他看到橱子里那么多好东西时，不但没有高 兴，反而吓坏了，后悔不该来。后来他想碰一碰没关系 吧，他就碰了一碰。后来又想只尝一块吧，就尝了一块。 后来又想只吃一块，就吃了一块。后来又想只吃两块， 只吃三块，他就这样吃下去…后来又想到仙女可能会 跑来抓住他，心里非常害怕，就开始狼吞虎咽起来，既 ·239· ChapterVI and began gobbling them down so fast that he did not taste them,or have any pleasure in them;and then he felt sick,and would have only one more;and then only one more again;and so on till he had eaten them all up. And all the while,close behind him,stood Mrs.Bedonebyasyoudid. Some people may say,But why did she not keep her cupboard locked? Well,I know.-It may seem a very strange thing,but she never does keep her cupboard locked;every one may go and taste for themselves,and fare accordingly.It is very odd,but so it is;and I am quite sure that she knows best. Perhaps she wishes people to keep their fingers out of the fire,by having them burned. She took off her spectacles,because she did not like to see too much;and in her pity she arched up her eyebrows into her very hair,and her eyes grew so wide that they would have taken in all the sorrows of the world,and filled with great big tears,as they too often do. But all she said was: "Ah,you poor little dear!You are just like all the rest." But she said it to herself,and Tom neither heard nor saw her.Now,you must not fancy that she was sentimental at all.If you do,and think that she is going to let off you,or me,or any human being when we do wrong,because she is too tender-hearted to punish us,then you will find yourself very much mistaken,as many a man does every year and every day. But what did the strange fairy do when she saw all her lollipops eaten? Did she fly at Tom,catch him by the seruff of the neck,hold him,howk him, hump him,hurry him,hit him,poke him,pull him,pinch him,pound him, put him in the corner,shake him,slap him,set him on a cold stone to reconsider himself,and so forth? Not a bit.You may watch her at work if you know where to find her.But you will never see her do that.For,if she had,she knew quite well Tom would have fought,and kicked,and bit,and said bad words,and turned again that moment into a naughty little heathen chimney-sweep,with his hand,like Ishmael's of ·240· 第六章【 ①gobble['gobl,贪婪地 吃不出滋味，也品不到乐趣。后来他吃得很不好受了， 吃：大口大口地吞 心想就再吃一块吧：接着又再吃一块。就这样一直吃下 去，终于把一橱子糖果全吃光了。 自始至终，惩恶仙女都紧紧站在他身后。 有人也许要说，为什么仙女不把橱子锁上呢？啊， 我知道。这看上去也许很奇怪，可是她从来就不锁。谁 都可以去尝，尝了以后各负后果。这好像很奇怪，但事 实就是这样：我敢说，仙女最最懂得这其中的道理。也 许她是希望人们被烫过一回就再也不玩火了。 惩恶仙女摘下眼镜，不忍多看。她心里充满了同情， 可是眉头皱得几乎碰到自己的头发，眼睛睁得老大，好 像把世界上所有的愁恨都吸了进去。她眼眶里总是装满 泪水，时常如此。 她只说了一句话： “唉，你这个可怜的小家伙，和其他人没两样。” 不过她是在自言自语，所以汤姆不但没有听见，也 没有看见她。可你不要以为她同情你了。如果你这样想， 以为你和我做错事时她会放过你或者我，或者任何人， 以为她心软，就不会惩罚我们，那你就大错特错，就像 世界上许许多多的人，年年月月，都这么妄想一样。 可是这位古怪仙女看见汤姆把她所有的糖果都吃光 了，会怎么办呢？ 她会冲过去抓着汤姆的后颈，提起来使劲打他、喝 ②scruff[skrw]n.颈背 ③hump [hAmp],催促 骂他、逗他、催他、敲他、戳他、揪他、扭他、捶他、 ④pound[paund,连续重 罚他去角落待着，使劲摇他，扇他耳光，罚他坐在冰冷 击 的石头上反省之类的吗？ 根本不会。如果你知道她是从哪里来的，你就知道 她会怎么做了。她是绝对不会这样处罚汤姆的，因为她 很清楚，如果这样对待汤姆，汤姆就会又打、又踢、又 咬、又骂下流话，就会露出他本来的面日，仍旧是一个 ·241· ChapterVI old,against every man,and every man's hand against him. Did she question him,hurry him,frighten him,threaten him,to make him confess?Not a bit.You may see her,as I said,at her work often enough if you know where to look for her:but you will never see her do that.For,if she had, she would have tempted him to tell lies in his fright;and that would have been worse for him,if possible,than even becoming a heathen chimney-sweep again. No.She leaves that for anxious parents and teachers (lazy ones,some call them),who,instead of giving children a fair trial,such as they would expect and demand for themselves,force them by fright to confess their own faults-which is so cruel and unfair that no judge on the bench dare do it to the wickedest thief or murderer,for the good British law forbids it-ay,and even punish them to make them confess,which is so detestable a crime that it is never committed now,save by Inquisitors,and Kings of Naples,and a few other wretched people of whom the world is weary.And then they say,"We have trained up the child in the way he should go,and when he grew up he has departed from it.Why then did Solomon say that he would not depart from it?"But perhaps the way of beating, and hurrying and frightening,and questioning,was not the way that the child should go;for it is not even the way in which a colt2 should go if you want to break it in and make it a quiet serviceable horse. Some folks may say,"Ah,but the Fairy does not need to do that if she knows everything already."True.But,if she did not know,she would not surely behave worse than a British judge and jury;and no more should parents and teachers either. So she just said nothing at all about the matter,not even when Tom came next day with the rest for sweet things.He was horribly afraid of coming:but he was still more afraid of staying away,lest any one should suspect him.He was dreadfully afraid,too,lest there should be no sweets-as was to be expected, he having eaten them all-and lest then the fairy should inquire who had taken them.But,behold!she pulled out just as many as ever,which astonished Tom, and frightened him still more. ·242· 第六章【 顽皮的、没有教养的小孩。他会像圣经里的以实玛利那 样用手对付每一个人，对付每一个用手对付他的人。 那么她是否会盘问他，逼迫他，恐吓他，威胁他，叫 他招认呢？也根本不会。如我刚才说过，如果你知道她住 在哪里，你就更加知道她会怎么做了，她是绝对不会这样 处罚汤姆的。因为这样做，汤姆就会害怕，反而说起谎来。 这比他变回一个顽皮的、没有教养的扫烟囱小孩更糟糕。 不，这类处罚她让给那些心急的父母和教师去做 (有些人说，他们不是心急，是懒惰)。这些父母和教师 不是给孩子们公平的仲裁，如同孩子们自己期待的那 样、要求的那样，而是吓唬小孩子招供自己的错误 多么残酷而又不公平啊，不管哪个法官，即使对待最可 Ddetestable [di'testabl] a,令人生厌的：讨厌的 恶的盗贼或者杀人犯也不敢这样做，因为大英法律严令 禁止。这些父母和教师甚至为了叫孩子们招供，先把他 们揍一顿。这是极其卑都的犯罪行为，现在已经谁都不 准用了（世人都很讨厌的检察官、那不勒斯国王和其他 一些可恶的人除外)。父母和教师们还说：“我们教孩子 走该走的正道，可是等他们长大了就走歪了呀。那么为 ②colt [kault]n.公马驹 什么所罗门却说孩子不会偏离正道呢？”也许这种打人、 逼人、吓人、问口供的方法恐怕不是孩子们应走的正道 吧。即使一匹小马，如果你要驯服它成为一匹听话管用 的坐骑，你也不能用这一套来对付它啊。 有人会说：“啊！仙女已经什么都知道了，不需要那样 做。”有道理。但是，她就算不知道，也不可能比英国的 法官和裁判做得更糟糕，也不会比父母和教师更出格， 所以，惩恶仙女根本没有提这事，汤姆第二天跟别 的孩子一起来拿糖果时，她也只字没说。他很害怕来， 但更害怕不来，免得人家怀疑。他最害怕的就是根本就 没有糖果了一本该没有的，都让他吃光了—仙女该 问是谁偷吃了。啊！然而，糖果还是多如从前，这太让 汤姆吃惊了，也让他更加害怕。 ·243· ChapterVI And,when the fairy looked him full in the face,he shook from head to foot: however she gave him his share like the rest,and he thought within himself that she could not have found him out. But,when he put the sweets into his mouth,he hated the taste of them;and they made him so sick that he had to get away as fast as he could;and terribly sick he was,and very cross and unhappy,all the week after. Then,when next week came,he had his share again;and again the fairy looked him full in the face;but more sadly than she had ever looked.And he could not bear the sweets:but took them again in spite of himself. And when Mrs.Doasyouwouldbedoneby came,he wanted to be cuddled like the rest;but she said very seriously: "I should like to cuddle you;but I cannot,you are so horny and prickly." And Tom looked at himself:and he was all over prickles?,just like a sea- egg. Which was quite natural;for you must know and believe that people's souls make their bodies just as a snail makes its shell(I am not joking,my little man;I am in serious,solemn earnest).And therefore,when Tom's soul grew all prickly with naughty tempers,his body could not help growing prickly,too,so that nobody would cuddle him,or play with him,or even like to look at him. What could Tom do now but go away and hide in a corner and cry?For nobody would play with him,and he knew full well why. And he was so miserable all that week that when the ugly fairy came and looked at him once more full in the face,more seriously and sadly than ever,he could stand it no longer,and thrust the sweetmeats away,saying,"No,I don't want any:I can't bear them now,"and then burst out crying,poor little man,and told Mrs.Bedonebyasyoudid every word as it happened. He was horribly frightened when he had done so;for he expected her to punish him very severely.But,instead,she only took him up and kissed him, which was not quite pleasant,for her chin was very bristly indeed;but he was so ·244· 第六章 等到仙女正眼看着汤姆时，他浑身颤抖，可是仙女 仍旧跟对其他孩子一样分给他糖果。于是他心想，仙女 不可能发现他干的坏事。 可是，汤姆把糖果送进嘴时很讨厌那味道，感到恶 心，不得不赶快走开。从这时起，整整一个星期，他都 ①cross[krns】a.恼怒的 非常难受，很郁闷，而且脾气很坏。接着，第二个星期 十分愤怒的 来了，他又领到一份糖果。仙女又正眼盯着他，脸色看 上去比平时更加忧郁。汤姆仍引旧吃不下糖果，可还是不 由自主地吃了。 等到福善仙女来时，汤姆也想和其他的孩子一样得 到抚爱。可是福善仙女非常严肃地说： “我很愿意拥抱你，可是我没法子，你身上全是尖 ②prickle[prikl].皮刺 刺啊。” ③sea-cgg[si:cg]n.海胆 汤姆低头望望自己，身上果然长满了尖刺，就像海 胆一样。 这也自然。你得知道并且得相信：人的灵魂塑造着 身体，就像蜗牛塑造自己的壳（我不是开玩笑啊，我 的小乖乖：我是认真的，非常严肃、认真)。所以呢， 汤姆调皮捣蛋，灵魂长了刺，于是身体也长出了刺， 没人愿抱他或者跟他玩耍，连看他一眼都不愿意。 现在，汤姆除了躲到角落里哭泣，还能干什么呢？ 没人愿意跟他玩了，他自己完全知道是什么原因。 这个星期他一直非常难受。等到丑仙女来了以后， 仍然那样盯着他看时（神情比以前更加严肃更加忧郁 了)，汤姆再也忍不住了。他一下把糖果扔掉，说：“不， 我不要了，我受不了啦。”可怜的孩子当场放声大哭， 把自己偷糖果的事一五一十告诉了仙女。 汤姆说完之后，心里非常害怕，原以为仙女会狠狠 责罚他。可是仙女不但没有责罚他，反而将他抱起来亲 了一下。仙女的下巴很粗糙，这一吻实在并不好受，可 ·245·